March 13, 2024
Studies find that rural people have higher rates of hearing loss than urban people but face significant barriers to care. Experts from a hearing clinic in South Dakota, a telehealth program in Alaska, and a nationally available agriculture safety program discuss these barriers, ways to improve access to hearing care, and the importance of hearing conservation.
July 26, 2023
In response to rising rates of overdose death and injection-related disease, rural organizers across the country are testing innovative harm reduction strategies to expand potentially life-saving services to some of the most marginalized members of their communities.
September 9, 2020
Contact tracing is an important step in preventing further spread of the coronavirus. Alaska's AHEC program, a center for public health in Washington, and a national public health foundation share their training strategies while an IHS hospital in Arizona discusses its in-person contact tracing initiative.
July 15, 2020
Advance care planning — planning for decision-making in times of medical crisis — has always been intended for all people, all ages, with or without a chronic disease. Clinicians talk about the challenges of these conversations now that COVID-19 has nudged planning from the realm of the theoretical future to current reality.
March 6, 2019
Rural healthcare facilities must plan and prepare for a wide range of natural and man-made disasters. A tornado in Iowa, an earthquake in Alaska, and an armed hostage standoff in South Dakota provide lessons in how rural providers can help ensure the safety of their patients, staff, and community in difficult circumstances.
October 31, 2018
The benefits of palliative care are described as "the heart of healthcare." Experts and advocates share the importance of scaling this care to rural outpatients with serious illness and chronic medical conditions.
October 17, 2018
Alaska's Southcentral Foundation has a specific solution to Native Alaskan domestic violence issues: the Family Wellness Warriors Initiative.
July 11, 2018
Obstetric services were available in 205 fewer rural hospitals in 2014 than in 2004. Realizing the importance of maternity and childbirth services, a CAH in Alaska works to keep its providers' skills sharp and a rural OB-GYN residency program in Wisconsin is beginning to train a new generation of physicians.
June 27, 2018
Moving the conversation away from finances, advocates share why general surgery plays an important role in a comprehensive rural population health strategy by delivering the right care in the right place at the right time.
January 11, 2017
Due to barriers like cost and staffing, many rural healthcare facilities' information systems are susceptible to malware attacks such as ransomware. South Peninsula Hospital, a Critical Access Hospital in Homer, Alaska, uses an IT staff of six to monitor threats and train coworkers on how to safeguard their hospital's information.
